Published : Jan. 27, 2013 - 19:06
HOUSTON (AP) ― James Harden scored 29 points, Chandler Parsons added 16 points and a career-high 11 assists and the Houston Rockets beat Brooklyn 119-106 on Saturday night for their 12th consecutive win over the Nets.
Omer Asik had 20 points and 16 rebounds for the Rockets, who outrebounded the Nets 50-31 and outscored Brooklyn 60-24 in the paint.
Nets star Deron Williams scored 27 points, but cooled off after a 20-point first quarter. He was ejected with 1:07 left after arguing a call with referee David Jones. Brook Lopez scored 21 points and Joe Johnson added 13 for Brooklyn.
Greg Smith (left) of the Houston Rockets fights for the ball against Kris Humphries and Deron Williams of the Brooklyn Nets at Toyota Center in Houston on Saturday. (AFP-Yonhap News)
Jeremy Lin had 14 points, nine assists and six turnovers for the Rockets.
Lin had his breakout game against Williams last Feb. 4, scoring 25 points and launching ‘’Linsanity’’ in a 99-92 victory for the New York Knicks. Williams scored 38 points the next time they met at Madison Square Garden, leading the Nets to a 100-92 win.
Lin was a restricted free agent after last season and signed a three-year, $25 million deal with Houston. Raymond Felton replaced Lin as the Knicks’ point guard, and Williams said before the season that he thought Felton was a better point guard than Lin.
Williams dominated the matchup at the beginning of the game, scoring Brooklyn’s first nine points, and 17 of its first 22. He started 7 for 7 and just beat the first-quarter buzzer with his fourth 3-pointer to put Brooklyn up 29-28. Lin missed his first two shots from the field and went to the bench after 7 1/2 minutes.
With Lin back on the floor and Williams resting, the Rockets built a 46-33 lead, dominating inside at both ends. Williams returned and missed two shots, while Houston stretched its lead to 18.
The Rockets had 17 assists on their first 20 field goals. Parsons had eight assists by himself in the first half, matching his career high for a game.
Jazz 114, Pacers 110
Trail Blazers 101, Clippers 100
Nuggets 121, Kings 93
Cavaliers 99, Raptors 98
76ers 97, Knicks 80
Wizards 86, Bulls 73
Bobcats 102, Timberwolves 101
Rockets 119, Nets 106
Bucks 109, Warriors 102
Spurs 108, Suns 99